Nitish Kumar announces uninteresting education loans before the elections of the Bihar Assembly

Bihar’s chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday September 16, announced that the loans granted as part of the student credit card program would now be without interest for all students who have crossed the exams of the Class 12 Council.

“I am extremely happy to inform you that now the educational loan granted as part of the student credit card program will be without interest for all candidates,” Kumar wrote in an article on X (formerly Twitter).

This decision is considered an attempt to appease young voters before the Bihar assembly polls which should take place later this year. With almost 60% of the Bihar population under the age of 35, students and young people have long been a key electoral tool for successive governments in the state.

Operational since 2016, the scheme previously offered loans at an interest rate of 4% for candidates general and 1% for women, transgender and capacity candidates differently. Until now, more than 1.1 Lakh of students would have benefited from the initiative, which makes it one of the flagship measures of the well-being of the Nitish Kumar government.

Prolonged loans repair period

In addition to suppressing the interest component, the government of the State has also softened the reimbursement conditions.

Students’ loans until ₹ 2 Lakh will now have a reimbursement window of 84 monthly payments (seven years), increasing compared to the previous limit of five years.

For exceeding loans ₹ 2 Lakh, the reimbursement period increased from seven years to a maximum of 120 months (10 years), added Kumar in the ad.

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Aim to extend access to higher education

The Student Credit Cars program was launched on October 2, 2016, as part of the State Saat Nischay program. It was designed to support students continuing higher education after class 12. Bihar, which has one of the lowest gross registration ratios (Ger) in higher education compared to the national average, tried to fill the gap thanks to projects like this.

Kumar also stressed that his government aims to create opportunities for students to continue their studies without financial obstacles.

“Our objective is to ensure that as many students as possible in the State can continue higher education. These facilities granted in the educational loan for higher education will strengthen students’ morale, allowing them to pursue higher education with greater enthusiasm and greater dedication, thus shaping not only their own future, but also the future of the state and the country,” he said.